Chip crunch! Tesla quietly removes steering section from Australian-shipped Tesla Model 3 sedans built in China, preventing future Tier 3 autonomy: report

Samples of the Model 3 delivered to Australia have been shipped from China since the end of 2020.

Leading electric vehicle (EV) specialist Tesla won't be the first auto brand to "decontent" new vehicles to overcome the ongoing global semiconductor shortage, but it hasn't told buyers, including Australians, about a key change it recently made to the market, according to a new report, Chinese Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs.

Citing two unnamed Tesla employees and internal correspondence as sources, CNBC claims that the American company quietly removed one of the two electronic control units (ECUs) included in the steering racks of some Model 3 and Model Y models manufactured in Shanghai in the fourth quarter of 4 yr.

While the US media is saying that the second ECU was considered redundant - so it was removed - it really should have played a role in the future when Tesla releases its long-promised Level 3 autonomous driving feature for the Model 3 and Model Y. - over the air update.

Now without an additional ECU. CNBC suggests that tens of thousands of Model 3 and Model Y models already delivered to customers in Australia, China, the UK, Germany and other parts of Europe do not have the hardware needed to support Tesla's next generation of so-called full autonomous driving features.

Assuming full autonomous driving does see the light of day, it's unclear if affected Model 3 and Model Y owners will be eligible for a free steering rack ECU installation as part of the service. In any case, the process of moving from Level 2 to Level 3 of autonomous driving will not be as easy as they promised.

“My personal guess is that this year we will achieve full self-driving with a level of safety that far exceeds human safety,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during a Jan. 26 earnings call.

“So, I think fleet vehicles that are essentially becoming self-driving through a software update could end up being the biggest increase in asset value of any asset class in history. We'll see."

But how CNBC reports that the real kicker is that Tesla had an internal discussion about whether to notify customers of the change, ultimately deciding not to as it doesn't affect the Model 3 and Model Y Level 2's current standalone capabilities - although it does prevents you from going to level 3.

Tesla has yet to publicly comment on this evolving story.